Best Film Ensemble

Sure, we have 13 performers who have reaped bids at three key precursor prizes : the Golden Globes, SAG and Critics’ Choice Awards. But contending for that triple crown still doesn’t make them sure things in the Oscars derby. Just ask Jake Gyllenhaal (“Nightcrawler”) and Jennifer Aniston (“Cake”) who racked up recognition from all of these kudos last year but were left off the list on Oscar nominations morning. They became the most recent of the 16 performers to stumble at the last hurdle since the Critics’ Choice Awards introduced nominations in 2001.

It seems only right that Leonardo DiCapriois our frontrunner to finally win an Oscar this year. After all, he makes this list of dubious achievements twice. He was spurned by the actors branch of the academy for his leading performance in “J. Edgar” (2011) and his turn in “The Departed” (2006). In the case of the latter film, which went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars, he was the victim of category confusion.

DiCaprio had earned lead nominations at the Globes and Critics’ Choice and a supporting one at SAG. At the Globes and Critics’ Choice, he had competed against himself in the Best Actor race, having also reaped bids for “Blood Diamond” but the Oscars don’t allow ths. At SAG, he contended in lead only for “Blood Diamond” and went on to earn a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars for that role. He lost all four of those lead races to Forest Whitaker (“The Last King of Scotland”).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Departed” (2006): Best Actor at both Critics’ Choice and Golden Globes; Best Supporting Actor (SAG)
This Oscar race only included one nominee — Eddie Murphy (“Dreamgirls”) — who had contended at all three precursor awards; he won all three as well. However, the Oscar went to Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) who had been snubbed by the Globes. The other three slots went to: SAG nominee Jackie Earle Haley (“Little Children”); SAG and Critics’ Choice nominee Djimon Honsou (“Blood Diamond”); and Globe nominee Mark Wahlberg (“The Departed”).

You’ll compete to win our contest prizes for best picks — $500 (first place), $300 (second place) and $200 (third place) in Amazon gift certificates — a place of honor on our leaderboard and a starring role in next year’s Top 24 Users (the two dozen folks who do the best predicting this year’s Oscar nominations). Be sure to read ourcontest rules.

Meet the guy who won our contest to predict the Oscar nominations last year — and learn how he did it and how you can be our next Gold Derby superstar.